


Cap & Crown

by GoldenKitteh



Category: Recess (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Friendship, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Middle School, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24977389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenKitteh/pseuds/GoldenKitteh
Summary: We all know Robert and TJ kept in touch, given that he was able to get a hold of Robert once he'd gone off to 7th grade, but what exactly happened after that? Could it be that a friendship, or maybe even something more, blossomed between 2 such different souls?Consider this the life stories of someone who'd been adored by many but had no true friends, and someone who'd had 5 best friends but was adored by none despite all the good he'd done.Rating will go up in subsequent chapters.
Relationships: King Bob/T. J. Detweiler, TJ Detweiler/King Bob
Comments: 18
Kudos: 9





	1. Kelso's

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AstronomerAlways](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstronomerAlways/gifts).



* * *

One unusually hot day in fall, a young man walks home from school.

Bob could have kicked himself. How could he have not checked his tires after hitting that huge bump on his way home yesterday?! Of course he’d told himself “it’s nothing” and thought no more of it …until he’d discovered a flat tire this morning.

Unable to drive himself to school, he’d caught the bus. Noticing somewhere he hasn’t been in quite a while, he decides to go in and get himself a refreshing cold drink.

Not long after he’s walked in, once he’s approached the beverage cooler, he hears his name called.

“Bob?”

Turning around, recognizing the owner of the voice, he’s greeted with the sight of a young man who’s taller & just a tad slimmer than he remembers.

“TJ? Wow, you got taller! How have you been?” He greets with a grin as he approaches his old friend.

“Sure have!” he says with pride as they slap then shake hands “I’ve been okay. What brings you by?”

“My car got a flat tire and I didn’t notice it yesterday. The friend I was going to hitch a ride home with got detention, but I didn’t figure that out until after the busses and everybody else left. So, I’m walking home today, and figured a cold drink would be nice.”

“Well, why don’t you sit down for a while? You can join me and my cousin.” he responds, gesturing to the little girl sitting next to him.

“Sure, I could use a break. Be right back” he says before paying old man Kelso for his soda, then returning to take a seat.

“What are you doing here?”

“Some things came up, and my family needed me to babysit, so I thought I’d show my cousin what my pals and I used to do for fun around here when we were kids. Clarice, this is my old friend Bob, do you want to say hi?”

The shy young girl hides her face in her hands, turning away from the tall stranger.

Bob laughs “she’s adorable”

“Yeah. I figure it’s a pretty sweet deal; I get out of school for a day, she gets to have fun pal-in’ around with her cool cousin TJ, and it’s an excuse for both of us to get milkshakes!” he smiles

“Glad to see the inner kid in you is still alive, Detweiler.”

Clarice sits on the barstool between them, happily kicking her feet as she sucks down her milkshake.

“Thanks. It’s good to see you again. I was really bummed the grades got restructured the year we were supposed to be in middle school together.”

“Yeah, me too. I got cheated out of my ninth grade year being on the top of the middle school food-chain! I had to start all over and be a freshman instead!”

“I’m just glad it didn’t happen sooner, and I got to be king of the playground for a year! I feel bad for my would-have-been successor. She was still glad I picked her though; it’s made her popular in middle school, from what I’ve heard.”

“I gotta go potty!” Clarice chimes in

“Do you remember where the bathroom is?” TJ asks

“I do!” the little girl happily responds

“Okay then, go ahead, I’ll be right here.”  
She nods and hops down from the barstool  
“…And remember to wash your hands!” TJ calls after her

“…Geez, you know, I didn’t realize how long it had been since we’d talked.” Bob admits

“Yeah, about a year I think…”

“Wow…”

“Time just goes by way too fast sometimes, doesn’t it?” TJ offers

“Yeah, it really does.”

“Hey, if you’re not doing anything, why don’t you come by my place this weekend? I’m having the whole gang over for a get together on Saturday, so I’ll run it by them. I’m sure they’d love to catch up and get some tips on senior high!”

“Sure, that would be fun!” Bob responds, internally thanking TJ for an excuse to cancel his dreaded weekend plans.

“Sounds great!” TJ smiles

“Speaking of great” Bob says before he gestures to Clarice. He smiles as he watches the little girl run toward them; She can’t possibly be older than a first grader.

“She’s a ball” TJ says happily as he watches her approach. Turning his attention to his little cousin, he asks  
“Are you ready to go?”

“Mmhmm!” she says, vigorously nodding her head

“Alright, just one second” TJ says, licking a napkin before wiping Clarice’s little face clean of some sticky milkshake residue.

“Have fun you two!” Bob bids as they leave

“Thanks! We will!” TJ says as Clarice giggles while hiding behind him.

* * *


	2. TJ's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To clarify, this story takes place in the canon time period, so that would make this fall of 2001

* * *

It’s around 5 p.m. when Bob arrives at TJ’s house. He doesn’t mind the thought of spending his Saturday evening with the bunch of 8th graders. Sure, most 10th graders probably would, but most 10th graders he knew were shallow & bored him to death.

TJ and his pals, in contrast, are some of the most genuine people he’s ever known. It’s not too often he meets people who aren’t intimidated by his status; well, not in his school district anyway. He’d thought about giving up the popularity, and receding into the shadows, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards for him.

Thoughts about his own, complicated, superficial social life swirl in his head as he makes his way up to TJ’s front door.

“Oh my, Robert, you’ve grown!”

“Hi Mrs. Detweiler” Bob blushes as he’s greeted.

“TJ, you have another friend at the door!” His mother calls

“Let him in? Thanks mom!” TJ calls back

“Come on in, TJ and his other friends are in the living room.”

“Thank you” he nods as he heads over to the room where all the noise is coming from

“Holy cow! I thought you were just pullin’ one over on us, Teej!” Vince exclaims as he sees former King Bob approach

“Hi” he greets, totally unsure of what else to say. They all looked so comfortable around one another, until he walked in.

“Wow, hi King Bob!” Mikey greets, dressed nicer than those old rags he used to wear.

“Hey, you shaved your uni-brow!” Spinelli remarks, keeping to herself just how **good** he looks without it.

“Actually, it’s just Bob these days, though I did win homecoming king. …Mikey, right?”

“Yeah!”

“And Spinelli?” he observes, almost shocked to notice the eyeliner, lip gloss, and earrings she’s wearing.

“Yup!”

TJ winks at Bob, who was grateful as ever he’d told him his friends’ names. He definitely looks more grown up, in his green flannel shirt, red beanie, and distressed jeans; but it seems he’s still as authentic as Bob ever remembers him being.

“Hey Bob, think you’ve got what it takes to take down the champ?” Gus offers, holding up one of the Sega controllers, just as the “game over” noise plays in the background. He and Vince are the only 2 who seem to not have changed much.

“Maybe, what game?”

“The New Sonic Adventure two!”

“Cool!”

Bob joins the gang in their game, playing against Vince for a couple of rounds before ultimately losing. He then hands the controller over to Gretchen, who he’s amused to notice has gone full goth. As she sits, he takes her old spot on the couch with the others.

The group continues on for a while longer, until the pizza rolls TJ’s mom had been baking were finished.

* * *

A while later, the group of seven have since made their way to TJ’s room. They’re having fun, chatting, telling jokes, talking about life. Something said reminds Mikey of his new girlfriend, causing him to swoon.

“Ah, the joys of blossoming love.”

“Oh geez, here he goes again…” Vince says before rolling his eyes

Spinelli giggles, while Gretchen just smiles.

“What a wonderous thing it is to be in the fluffy, comforting throws of puppy-love!” Mikey says, clasping his hands over his heart. He closes his eyes and smiles, before retrieving a photo strip from his pocket.

“Isn’t she just radiant?” He says, rather bewitched, as he passes the photo over to Bob.

“Um, sure, I guess…”

“Like a morning glory blossoming in the early morning dew, so too does Lillian blossom in my heart.”

“He’s been like this for the last two weeks ever since she said yes when Mikey asked her out.” Gretchen informs

Bob, Vince, and Spinelli chuckle a little. Gus and TJ just shake their heads and smile.

Once the photo strip is returned to Mikey, he pockets it gingerly; true to his gentle-giant nature.

Bob then turns to TJ and asks “So, has any lucky lady snatched you up yet, Detweiler?”

At this, the room goes silent.

TJ, caught off guard, blushes a light pink beneath his freckles.

“Uh…” he stammers

“Oh, would you look at the time! Sorry Teej, but I’ve gotta get going…” Vince chimes in, pointing to TJ’s bedroom door with his thumb.

Soon after, Gus and Spinelli are following him out with excuses of their own.

“Yeah, me too, I promised my dad I’d help him with some things in the garage.”

“And the wrestling re-runs on Saturday night are pretty good.”

The three make their way out of TJ’s room and are heading downstairs when Mikey offers

“Well, I wouldn’t mind sticking around for moral support.”

“I’m also willing to stay, should you want the company, Theo” Gretchen extends

He smiles in response

“Thanks guys. I appreciate the offers, but it’s okay. Bob and I clearly have some catching up to do. Besides, it’s almost dark outside, and if you go now, you can catch a ride with my mom before she takes the others home.”

Following his lead, Gretchen responds with a nod of her head before she rises, helped by Mikey.

“Very well; It was nice to see you again, Bob! Thanks for the fun Theo” she bids as she heads out his bedroom door.

“Yeah, and the pizza rolls!” Mikey adds as he, too, heads downstairs. He closes the door behind himself after TJ responds

“’Course! Later!” holding up a hand in a friendly parting manner.

Once he and Bob are alone, Bob begins by asking

“Was it something I said?”

“Well, Bob, it’s kind of a long story. How much of it do you want to hear?”

“As much of it as you’re willing to tell” he replies, intrigued.

“Better get comfy” TJ leads

Bob then snags another nearby beanbag chair to lay across.

“So… Spinelli wound up telling me she had feelings for me last year, and we dated for a little bit.”

TJ pauses to gather his thoughts.

“It ah… it was fun at first. Spinelli’s the coolest girl I know and, well, you’ve seen her.”

“She has grown up rather stunning.”

“Yeah. She’s gorgeous, and still tough as nails. So when I kept feeling like something was… off… I couldn’t figure out why. I mean, we’re a great team: we have a lot in common, but we’re different enough to balance each other out. So, I was pretty confused for a while there. I don’t remember exactly how it was said, or by who, but one of our friends said something about ‘always expecting you two to get together’. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: that’s why I was dating Spinelli. That’s why I went along with it when she said she liked me, because it felt like I was expected to. So I asked myself: What would I have said to her if I hadn’t felt like we were ‘supposed to’ date? If other people didn’t want us together, would I enjoy it anymore? Do **I** want to date her? Do I even feel that way about her at all?”

Bob nods along, listening as TJ continues.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, I liked seeing her and hanging out with her more often, still do, in fact. …But that’s about all it was for me. I like Spinelli, but just as a friend. I was trying to think of a way to tell her when some other things I’d been struggling with for a while got to a point they could no longer be ignored.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, right before I broke-up with Spinelli, I realized I had feelings for someone else.”

“And somehow she didn’t murder you?” Bob adds, shocked to hear that after seeing how they all still behaved like chums earlier.

“No; actually, she was really nice about it. But I’m getting to that part.”

“Okay…” Bob adds skeptically

“I promise it’ll make more sense in context.” TJ assures

Bob nods, engrossed in TJ’s tale.

“So, finally having to admit to myself I had feelings for another one of my close friends is what put the final nail in the coffin. I didn’t know what to do. …I knew I had to tell Spinelli first, but I was terrified. I didn’t know how she’d feel or what she’d do…so I thought I’d just tell her part of it. …But then, if I broke up with her and things did work out the way I hoped they would, I’d have to explain that to her. …And she’s always been easy to talk to. We grew up together, so I figured I couldn’t just dump her with no explanation. …Anyway, I settled on telling her the truth, but not the whole truth. I told her I wanted to break-up, that I had feelings for someone else, and that it wasn’t fair to either of us to keep dating.”

“And she took that well?”

“Not at first. She went a little nuts, demanding to know the name of the girl who took me away from her; threatening to smack her down, wrestling super-chick style. …I tried to say I didn’t want to talk about it, but she kept asking ‘who is she? Who is she?’ and I tried to hold it back, but I burst into tears.”

“Woah…” Bob says, feeling bad for TJ.

“Yeah. Hearing her say that over and over again just got to me. It made me feel… strange. Like what I wanted was so bad it was unspeakable. Anyway, she backed off. Once I could speak coherently again, we talked. She said she was sorry for pushing me that far, I said I was sorry I couldn’t make myself like her. She said it wasn’t my fault, you like who you like. I agreed. …I thought about leaving, leaving it at that and just running away from the rest of the truth; but I didn’t want to spend my whole life running. I figured a heart to heart wasn’t a bad way to let it out. So I told her, ‘there is no other girl, I have feelings for Gus.’”

“Woah” Bob comments, not expecting that.

“Yeah… she asked me if I was gay, I told her I was afraid so, then she asked me why I was afraid. …Anyway we talked for a while after that.” TJ says, tearing up a little bit at the memory.

“Did you ever tell Gus?” Bob asked in earnest. Clearly, they’re still friends, so either things went okay, or he hasn’t said anything.

“…I did. He was actually really flattered, but sadly, he’s straight.” TJ laments

“Yeah, that’ll probably happen a lot…” Bob relays, feeling bad for TJ.  
“I’m sorry if me asking if you had a girlfriend earlier hurt your feelings. It can’t be easy watching all your friends start to date when your options are far fewer than theirs.”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t. …Sure it gets a little lonely sometimes; but I’d rather be alone than be with someone I know isn’t right for me.”

“When you do find someone Detweiler, he’s going to be one lucky guy.”

“Thanks Bob, that means a lot.” TJ says, touched. His freckled cheeks once again tinting pink from the blood rushing to them.

“From their reactions earlier, it’s pretty obvious all your friends know. …Were they all, just, okay with it?”  
Bob asks, imagining it must have taken at least a few of his friends some time to come around.

“Well, not right away. Vince took the longest to come around. Spinelli was different around me for a little while, but I think that was ‘cuz of my breaking her heart. …She’s a really good friend. I don’t know too many people who would be there for someone while that someone’s breaking up with them. She didn’t even say anything about it to anyone, either. Well, not until after I did.”

“How long before you told them?”

“Not super long… it ate at me all week.”

“How’d they take it?”

“Gretchen wanted to talk to me in private; turns out, she had feelings for me, too. So I told her how that went with me and Gus; we had a laugh about that. Gus never really seemed too bothered. Gretchen said it was probably a huge ego boost that I was into him, I think she was right. And, well, you know Mikey; he loves love, and I quote, ‘in all its countless forms’. So gradually things went back to normal.”

Bob laughs, because of course Mikey would say something like that.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world: boyfriends and girlfriends will come and go, but friends like mine’ll get someone through a divorce.”

“You’re still insightful as ever.” Bob observes, in awe of the sheer amount of guts this guy has.

TJ smiles

* * *


	3. Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> picks up right where the last chapter left off

* * *

“I’m glad you’ve got six people in your corner, just in case anyone gives you a hard time.”

“Six?” TJ asks, perking up

“Well yeah! There were many an occasion you taught me what bravery was; I’m grateful to you for that.”

“Gee, thanks Bob. I really appreciate that” he relays, smiling at his friend, who nods.

“School can be tough enough as it is. For someone in your position …I hate to imagine the awful ways people might behave if word got out.” He sighs

“I was worried about that, too.”

“…Was?” Bob inquires, nervous on his friend’s behalf

“Was, ‘til the whole school found out.”

Bob gasps, sitting up at once  
“Oh no! What happened?”

“No no, Bob, relax, it was my idea.”

“Why would you do that?” Bob asks, incredulous

“I figure like this: if everyone finds out on my own terms, then they can’t use it against me. Sure, maybe people would be mean for a while, but eventually, it’s old news. Can’t use something against someone they’re not ashamed of.”

“I…I never thought of it like that.” He responds, once again flabbergasted at TJ’s brilliance.

“Like I said, I didn’t want to run from it anymore. And things haven’t turned out as bad as I’d thought.”

“How on Earth did you manage that?”

“The only way I know how: I came up with a plan.”

“Oh, this ought to be good. Regale me with the tale!” Bob says in a very noble manner, adjusting his position to be more comfortable.

“Well, I was talking to the gang about how to pull it off without making myself a social pariah. Gretchen pointed out my best shot at people not reacting badly was to figure out a way to tell everyone that casts me in a better light. So, I was thinking, ‘how can I convince people me liking guys doesn’t make me the worst guy around?’ Then I thought, ‘What better way to do that than through the worst guy around?’”

“Clever, but I don’t quite follow.”

“Randall hasn’t changed all that much. He’s still a sneaky, rumor-fueling jerk that wants people to like him, but constantly does stuff that makes people not like him. The best way to get a guy like that to tell the entire school something: make him think it’s a big secret I don’t want anyone to know about.”

“Interesting” Bob comments, impressed

“Thanks! Mikey and I had history with him last year, so I passed a note right in front of him, knowing he’d read it. All it said was a time & place, so he’d know where to find us after school. The gang & I had already discussed everything, so they all knew what I was up to. Gotta hand it to ‘em, they all played their parts really well. Once Gus gave me the signal Randall was spying on us, operation not-so-secret was in motion. I pretended to just be telling everyone for the first time, acting like I was all scared. They all took turns ‘assuring’ me they wouldn’t tell anyone, and that my secret was safe with them. Sure enough, the next day at school, he makes his move.”

TJ pauses to take a drink of water, Bob awaits the rest of the story.

“I had just paid for my lunch, when I see Randall walking up to the cool kids’ table. He tries to sit in my spot, between Vince and Ellie. Naturally, everyone there looks at him like he’s crazy. Spinelli shakes her fist, offering him a knuckle-sandwich. Ellie’s calling him a dweeb, telling him to get lost; but he doesn’t go away. He says he figures they’ll need someone to fill that spot, since I won’t be sitting there anymore. Vince asks him what on Earth makes him think they’d let him take my spot, so he shouts, ‘Because he’s gay!’ So then, of course, everyone’s watching, including me from over at the condiment table. Randall spots me, points at me, following up with ‘TJ Detweiler is GAY! Gay everyone, GAY!’ Ellie chimes in, ‘yeah right’ but then, Randall comes back with ‘I have proof! I recorded it! And pulls out his cassette recorder. …Well, at that point, all eyes were on me. I won’t lie, I doubted the whole plan in that moment.”

“I’d bet!”

“Oh my gosh, Bob, it felt like I was gonna faint. In retrospect, it was more embarrassing to Randall than it was to me. The whole thing made him look like a five-year-old.”

“Throwing a tantrum?” Bob adds, quirking an eyebrow

“Exactly!” TJ laughs, before continuing  
“Thankfully, pretty soon after his outburst, Vince chimed in, saying ‘So?’ Boy, that really set Randall off! He started shouting ‘so? SO!? Whaddaya mean, so!?!’ then Vince said ‘so he’s gay, so what? We’re still not gonna let you sit here.’ …The whole cafeteria was dead silent for a moment, before Randall shouted ‘Unbelievable! He’s a fairy! You’d rather sit with a fairy than me?!’ then, good ol’ Spinelli added ‘I’d rather sit with a fairy than a weasel any day, now scram varmint!’”

Bob laughs, wiping tears from his eyes, amused at the ‘varmint’ line. Once he settles down, he comments  
“Wow, it’s a really good thing you have them in your corner.”

“Yeah, it is. I think Vince was so adamant about standing up for me in front of everyone that day because he felt bad about the 2 weeks he didn’t talk to me after I first told him and the guys.”

“Geez.”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I couldn’t really be too mad at him, after all, it took me a while to come around to it myself, can’t exactly blame the guy for needing a little time. …Anyway, back in the cafeteria, I could tell people were staring at me as I made my way over for the moment of truth. Even though Vince and Spinelli were on my side, that didn’t mean anyone else at the table would be okay with it. I was nervous, but I kept reminding myself of the day before: Mikey had offered to let me sit with him and the other choir kids if things went south. Gretchen had done the same, offering to let me sit with her and the other goths if the cool kids weren’t so cool with it. When I finally got over to the table, Vince scooted over a little bit and said, ‘saved your spot, man.’ I thanked him and sat down. A few people looked over every now and then, but it was fine. People came up to me a lot, asking if it was true. I told them it was. Things took a few weeks to go back to normal, but it was mostly fine.”

“Leave it to you to pull off the impossible.” Bob commends

“Hey, with the right friends, nothing is impossible!” TJ informs

“Still, a feat like that is very impressive.”

“Again, thanks, but I can’t take all the credit. Once the guys saw that girls started to want to talk to me about stuff, they figured out they can ask me what the girls I talk to say they like in guys. …I mostly have the Ashleys to thank for that. They really like to talk about guys.”  
TJ says, keeping to himself Ashley T’s confession to him that she actually likes girls.

“We need to keep in touch more often, I don’t want to miss anything that enthralling again!” Bob insists

“Speaking of, what have I missed in your life?”

“Not much, my life’s boring by comparison.”

“So don’t compare your life to mine, and just tell me what’s new.” TJ offers warmly

“Okay. Well, I’m captain of the lacrosse team, and I won homecoming king.”

“And people don’t call you ‘King Bob’?”

“Well, occasionally. But I didn’t want to intimidate your friends. …Did you see my car?”

“No, I didn’t!”

Bob rises, opening TJ’s curtains & revealing his beloved vehicle below.

“Ooh, cool!” TJ observes, marveling at the cherry red convertible.

“Feast your eyes upon: SpeedSauce!”

“SpeedSauce?”

“Yeah, ‘cuz it’s fast and it’s red hot, like hot sauce, so SpeedSauce.”

TJ laughs, palm covering his amused smile.

“What?” Bob asks, as an amused TJ hides his face, laughing

* * *

The two had talked late into the evening, but eventually, a little after 11, Bob left; not wanting to overstay his welcome.

Many thoughts run through his head on his otherwise uneventful drive home.

He’d enjoyed his evening, it was time well spent in his humble opinion. What wasn’t sitting well with Bob, however, were some of the points TJ had brought up.

There had been many an occasion where TJ stood up for what was right, seeming to always stay true to himself and his convictions. Heck, he once convinced their principal to take the entire school for a field trip to see the Senior Fusion opening premiere!

TJ has a way about him most people just don’t. Charisma, moxy, and a strong moral compass. He’d inspired Bob so many times…so it resonated with him when he’d said he’d rather be alone than with someone he knew wasn’t right for him.

Bob would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t know why he did things like cancel on his girlfriend whenever he could; hoping to get her to dump him, instead of just dumping her himself. He’d gotten in that particular bad habit around 8th grade: dating girls who bored him to death, that he didn’t really like, in the name of popularity.

…But why? At first, he’d been hoping one of those girls might relate to him, see him for just plain ol’ Bob, not his status. Thus far, no such luck. In fact, he’s pretty sure TJ and some of the friends he made outside of school, in soccer camp, were his only real pals.

He sighs to himself, wondering why some people are so lucky, and others like him only look lucky. Oh well. At least he’d done right by one of the only true friends he happened to stumble across, when he’d bribed Freddie to make TJ king of the playground those few years ago.

* * *


	4. You've got a Friend in me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back from the dead, the idea lives!!

* * *

“Unbelievable!” TJ shouts as he stomps in through his front door, fuming.

“TJ honey, is everything alright?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it, mom!” He calls back in irritation. The long walk home having done next to nothing to settle his nerves.

Marching up the stairs, he closes & locks his bedroom door behind himself as he makes his way into the bathroom. He then quickly undresses, discovering a few stray fettuccine noodles still perched upon the back of his head as he does. Groaning to himself and rolling his eyes, he discards the messy clothes. A nice, long, hot shower might help him put what’d happened out of his mind as best he can.

* * *

It had all started when Menlo realized his birthday was approaching. Sure, having TJ continually make his annual appearance at his parties had been fine back when he was Mr. Congeniality. But now? His chances with girls were already far too low for his liking, if someone got the wrong idea and thought he was gay too, well, that certainly wouldn’t help.

Fortunately, TJ’d anticipated something like this, and had asked if he’d still wanted him to attend his birthday celebrations. Menlo had informed him that no, he’d rather he not come by anymore, and TJ had understood.

Everything had been fine, until those dumb jerks had seen the two of them talking, and made kissy-faces at Menlo as soon as TJ’d turned his back to walk away.

Great, just what he’d been hoping to avoid: people thinking he was gay by association.

Well, only one way to clear up that misconception.

“Excuse me fellows” Menlo began, walking up to them.

“Whadda ya want, fairy boy?”

“Yeah, don’t you wanna get back to your **_boy_** friend!” the other one added, both laughing.

That gave Menlo an idea.

“Ha. Funny, but not quite.”

The following Friday, after last period, TJ had found a note in his locker. Upon reading it, his heart began to patter. Could it be? That would explain… He’d have to ask Mikey to cover for him. TJ Detweiler had a date!

A few hours and outfit changes later, TJ’d decided to stick with a classic. Jeans, cotton jacket that made his shoulders look broader, and a somewhat-dressy shirt underneath. Didn’t want to give away where he was really going, after all, but he also didn’t want to show up looking like a scrub. Once Mikey’s mom pulled up, TJ’d nearly flown down the stairs: half from excitement, half to keep his mom from asking questions.

The ride there had been great, as Mikey, too, had been excited to have an excuse to take Lillian on a date; not that he’d ever needed one.

“You sure you guys don’t mind sitting in another booth?” TJ’d asked, having remembered the note specifying he come alone.

“Not at all, good luck on your date with mystery-guy!” Mikey wishes as he winks at his friend

“Besides, I kinda like having my charming guy all to myself!” Lillian assures, eager to sit down to a romantic dinner with her sweet, sensitive boyfriend.

“Thanks” he smiles at them both, as he sits in the waiting area. He waits only for a couple minutes, before he’s waved over by Menlo. He quickly makes his way over, sneaking off to a booth secluded in the corner.

The two sit down, and it’s quiet at for a little while. Eventually, Menlo’s first to speak.

“I’ve gotta say, part of me thought you wouldn’t show up.”

“I mean I was surprised but… I’m willing to see where this goes.” TJ says, smiling.

Menlo looks back down at the menu, as TJ does the same. He’s not browsing it for long when the sensation of something warm & slippery is covering him. His hands drop the menu & his eyes close as his senses are flooded with fettuccine alfredo. He can feel the lump of noodles plop down onto his head, as the sauce now covers his face & runs down his back.

The snickers from behind him don’t catch his attention as much as the ones from across the table do.

Wiping the sauce from his eyes & wetting the napkin with some of his water to hopefully regain his ability to see, he almost wishes he hadn’t.

The chuckles & the look on Menlo’s half-covered face instantly cause his heart to sink, as he realizes what’s going on.

This hadn’t been a couple of ignorant passers-by: this was a set-up.

A set-up under the guise of what he’d thought was going to be his first real date.

“Come on, you didn’t actually think I **liked** you, did you?” Menlo gets out between chuckles.

Nausea, anger, and cold-sweats course through TJ as he turns and storms out of the restaurant as quickly as possible, audible sounds of disgust escaping him as he makes his way out of the establishment.

* * *

About an hour later, there’s a knock at his front door.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Detweiler, is TJ home? I have something for him.” The young woman poses, holding two paper bags in her hands.

“Ah, well yes he is, but he wasn’t exactly in the best of moods last I saw him. Let me go see if he’s up for company.”

Approaching the bottom of the staircase, Mrs. Detweiler calls out

“TJ honey! You have a friend here to see you!”

“Go away!”

“She says she’s got something for you!”

Curious, TJ peeks out his bedroom window to see a familiar blonde standing on his front porch below.

“Be down in a second!” he calls back to his mom, hurriedly changing out of his pajamas into some clean, comfy clothes.

* * *

Having been making the most of her mediocre outing, the eldest Armbruster had been watching the door most of the night. The ambiance was a tad too common for her taste, and the food was alright, but she’d not been terribly unhappy with her night overall.

Somewhat unconsciously tuning out her parents’ conversation, Ashley’s attention had been fully captured when she’d spotted a visibly disgruntled TJ dashing toward the front door. The angry look upon his face & the alfredo sauce dripping down his back being all the motivation she’d needed to investigate.

Quickly excusing herself, she winds her way over down the wing he’d come from, spotting the group of 3 boys in the far corner, laughing.

“You jerks think this is funny?!” She shouts, outraged as she makes her way over to them.

“Yeah what of it?” One of the jerks responds.

“This!” she shouts, grabbing a leftover soda off a nearby abandoned table and sloshing it in the guy’s face.

Defeated, he runs off to the boys’ room to clean out his stinging eyes.

Holding up another item off the table in her fury, the guy who’d been standing next to the jerk she’d splashed runs off before she’s got the chance to get him, too.

Instead, she turns her attention to the boy in the booth.

“You are **such** a slime ball!” she insults, lividly hurling the plastic basket of chicken-bones as hard as she can at Menlo’s face, ranch and all.

Letting out a high-pitched, shrill scream of exasperation, she’s approached by a waitress.

“What’s going on here?”

“This jerk” she informs, pointing to Menlo “and two of his slime ball friends think it’s funny to go around dumping food on people for no good reason!”

She then storms off. She’s pretty sure she’d seen TJ come in with that big guy he’s friends with, so she heads off to find him.

Menlo Watches the blonde as she goes, despite the little bits of food littering his face & grease staining the left lens of his glasses.

He’d be remiss to claim he couldn’t see the cruel irony in it all. Tarnishing his association with TJ, in an attempt to shield his chances with girls, only to end up utterly destroying any shot he may have once had with the girl he liked the most. …A rather fitting karmic punishment for his misdeed.

Great. Just great.

* * *

“Come on in dear, he’ll just be a second.” TJ’s mom offers

Ashley nods, entering the home silently.

Soon after the front door’s been closed, TJ’s footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs.

“Ashley, what are you doing here?” he asks upon seeing her.

“I heard what happened, and I brought you some things your friend said you’d like. Where’s your room?”

“You… Wow, that’s really nice of you! It’s upstairs on the left.” He responds, surprised at the gesture.

“Great! Grab a couple of spoons and towels, then meet me up there. And hurry!” she says, running up the stairs.

TJ quickly retrieves 2 large spoons from the kitchen, and a couple towels from the linen closet upstairs before re-entering his room.

“Okay I’ve got the stuff…” he begins, confused.

TJ watches briefly as Ashley A moves 2 bean-bag chairs near one another on his floor, brown bags she’d brought between them.

She pulls him over by the hand, grabbing a towel & draping it across herself like a blanket before she responds.

“This is so we can eat as messy as we want”  
she explains, tucking the towel into her collar & grabbing a spoon.  
“Your big friend said this is what you like. Though personally I find this stuff disgusting, tonight’s about cheering you up!”

She then opens the brown Taco-Bell bag, showing him a loaded nacho, a couple 7-layer burritos, and a few tacos.

“Ashely, what is all this?”

“Well, I know you’re not, like, a girl or anything. But this is what the other Ashleys and I do for each other when some guy breaks one of our hearts.”

“I… thank you.” He responds at a loss for anything else to say.

“Thank me later, we should dig in before the ice cream melts!” she begins, retrieving a large, round container of Edy’s Double Fudge Brownie from the other bag.

Following her lead with the towel & handing her a spoon, TJ scooches his beanbag chair close together with hers to support the tub of ice cream between them.

“Mmmm” he closes his eyes, savoring the rich, chocolatey flavor of the deliciously cold frozen dessert & soft brownie bits.

“Ice cream always tastes better after heartbreak.” Ashley informs, cracking a small smile at the look on her friend’s face.

“Yeah, I guess it does” TJ concedes

“Mikey told me you’d been led to believe you were there on a date.” She asks before enjoying a scoop of the treat herself.

“Yeah… I thought it was going to be my first date. Well, first one with a guy anyway.” TJ laments, pouring out his feelings over the dessert.

“Bummer” she commiserates, mouth still half-full of the chocolatey delight.

“No kidding.” TJ adds, feeling down once again.

“Guys are jerks. Especially straight ones.”

“I guess” he replies, having mixed feelings about the statement.

“You don’t know what I did once you left” she leads, tone mischievous.

Pulling him from his brief stupor, TJ’s turns his full attention towards the blonde. Mouth full of brownie & creamy chocolatey goodness, he just waits with his eyes wide open for her to continue.

“Well, I saw you leaving all upset and covered in alfredo sauce, so it was pretty obvious something was up. I went over to where you’d come from, and there were Menlo and those two goons over in the back corner, yucking it up. So I stormed over there and got one of the jerks right in the face with a nasty old soda someone had been sipping on from the empty table nearby.”

“Oh, gross!” TJ chuckles, freckled face lighting up in amusement.

“Oh yeah, and I got him good, too. Right in the eyes!” she divulges, making eyebrows and smiling as she recounts.

“Nice” he high-fives her with his free hand.

She meets his gesture with her hand before he takes another scoop, and she continues.

“Anyway, jerk #1 runs off to go wash his eyes out. Then I picked up something else and yelled, and jerk #2 runs off like a little scaredy cat.”

TJ laughs, honest to goodness laughs, even though he shouldn’t. He knows he shouldn’t but… it just feels **_so good_**.

“Then there’s Menlo, and he’s not laughing anymore. Oh no! No, instead, he gets a face full of mostly-eaten chicken wings and whatever sauce was left in the basket I hurled at his face.”

A few hours ago, that statement would have had TJ all kinds of internally conflicted. But now?

“Nice.”

Now it just makes him happy. Good, that jerk got what was coming to him!

“Oh yeah. And right when I was about to walk off, the waitress comes over, so I told her that disgusting creep and his friends thought it was funny to throw food on people and let her deal with him.”

“Oh…” TJ utters, feeling kind of bad for the poor waitress that’d had to clean up the mess.

“I saw her name-tag and asked mama to leave her a tip.” Ashley informs, before taking another scoop, hoping to make TJ feel better.

“That’s good at least.”

“Uh-huh; So anyway, I went and found your friend, and told him what happened. We talked, I asked him what your favorite junk food and ice cream flavor was, and here we are. He’d offered to come along, but I figured it’d be better just the two of us.”

“Yeah, I’d feel bad interrupting his date.”

“Well, besides that, I thought you might appreciate a little space to be able to talk freely about those jerk guys with someone who understands.” She conveys

TJ looks up from the nachos he’d retrieved, fully seeing the person currently sat next to him.

“You know Ashley, I had you all wrong. After I came out, and you first wanted to be my friend, I thought you and the others wanted me around as some kind of shiny accessory. But you know, you’re actually a really good friend.” He admits.

“Well, no offence, but you’re not exactly shiny. And as far as accessories go, you definitely don’t make the cut. But you are made of all the right stuff to be friend material.” She redeems the sentiment, lightly bumping his shoulder with her own.

TJ smiles at her, grateful to have one more good person in his corner.

“Nacho?”

“Sure.” She smiles, willing to try the greasy, cheesy mess of a dish if it meant cheering up one guy she knew would never break her heart.

It hadn’t been the night he’d been hoping for, or the kind of relationship he’d been looking to start. Even So, as he sits in his room, sharing junk food with someone he hadn’t expected to find camaraderie with, TJ Detweiler considers himself a fairly lucky guy.

* * *


End file.
